Passport Renewal Road trip planning and diary to Philippine General Consulate in downtown San Francisco
by Mountain Computers Inc., Publication Date: Tuesday, September 28, 2021
View Count: 826, Keywords: Philippine Passport Renewal, San Francisco, Philippine General Consulate, Planning, Road Trip, Diary, Hashtags: #PhilippinePassportRenewal #SanFrancisco #PhilippineGeneralConsulate #Planning #RoadTrip #Diary
FYI - this is a work in progress... I want to document and share the entire account in as much detail as possible.... for the good of those doing this in the future, including myself...
Today was an 11 hour round trip road trip from Reno Nevada to downtown San Francisco to renew a Philippine Passport at the Philippine General Consulate. What a long day, very eventful, and went smoothly to avoid consulate processing delays, traffic, toll bridge violations and extra fees, personal confusion first time driving to downtown San Francisco, and other unexpected delays.
The preparation and planning was very important. Here are the notes and a quick diary of the event.
1. gas up day before, clean windshields, make sure vehicle lights, brakes, tires, and interior and exterior clean and ready... this is going to be a jet stream type of trip to and from...
2. have all paperwork prepared and requirements done. go to post office day before departure to get Flat Rate mailer with 4 each $2 stamps, total $8 flat rate, address envelope back to yourself.
3. renewal application submitted 1 month prior as a note, and originally a 9am appointment, yet getting from Reno to San Francisco at that time put me at up early dark and going through rush hour traffic in either Sacramento and/or San Francisco coming and going, so requested an early after noon, and that was agreed to by the consulate schedulers to be 1:30PM a week later, and they specifically stated no other rescheduling requests allowed, future appointments if not accepted would be declined nor allowed. wow.
4. research and planning for parking ... found 660 Sutter Street Parking Garage across the street from consulate building, using street view and Map Quest and google maps. Estimate $9/hr parking and total was $27 for 12:30pm to 2:45pm. cool.
5. research and planning for toll bridges coming and going across the bay, found San Francisco fast track one time pay for visitors giving date and time range and giving credit card to avoid violations and post payment needs linked to license plate. printed and carried temporary id number with me in case it came in handy for parking etc. $TBD
6. planned to get there early by 1-2 hours so plan a place to eat and maybe sight see... so treasure island and the Nimitz historical home... (done.. that was awesome)... E+O kitchen and bar 600 feet down the street for Asian menu... no Mongolian beef on the menu yet satay was there (did not try it), yet Pad Thai and Chicken Chow Mien was good. $44
7. Departing Reno at 8am sharp, to avoid rush hour traffic in both Sacramento and San Francisco, get to Rocklin CA first, do quick pit stop and pee stop, get a beverage, and go. no need for gas, but will stop back by on the way home, and repeat... cruise through N. Sacramento I-80 around 9am-ish to 10am-ish... on the way back from SF, make sure to get to SW side of Sacramento by 4pm-ish before 4:45pm-ish to use carpool lane and avoid rush...
8. going into San Francisco, Apple Siri and Map Quest app took us down the Pinole Valley Hercules side and just 2 accidents to slow us down a bit, but nothing serious; stopping at Treasure island for 30 minutes to check out Nimitz House and old Navy officer homes, a very clear day, sunny, no wind, cool and gorgeous views, then across the Bay Bridge down to exit 2C Fremont Street and a few downtown turns and within 10 minutes arrived at Sutter Street Parking Garage.. no traffic, no people, just quiet... 12:15pm... yay!! made it, almost 2 hours early, but thats okay, rather be early than late, no something to eat... and do the consulate requirements and get out of dodge and back to Reno...
9. leaving San Francisco, Apple Siri and Map Quest took us west back across the Bay Bridge through a long tunnel, a little orange slow traffic for 2-3 miles to Concord Walnut Creek side and out and up, two toll bridges, no stopping, just some slow downs orange and red traffic three times, yet go back on I-80 main around 3pm, and hit south west Sacramento at 4:15pm, kept to carpool lane and cruised on through...
10. Returning to Reno Nevada, exit 109 I-80 Rocklin, CA pit stop, gas up before going over mountains.... arrived Reno, NV at 7pm on the dot...
more to come...
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